Solidarity Research Center

What Solidarity Research Center does

Solidarity Research Center is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that provides participatory action research, data science, story-based strategy, and applied social science research to community organizations, worker cooperatives, labor unions, advocacy groups, and fiscal-sponsored grassroots projects operating in the solidarity economy space. Its core offerings include Research Services (quantitative and qualitative campaign and ecosystem research), the Municipalism Learning Series (public panel series, Municipalist Cohort Fellowship, and a Municipalist Organizing Toolkit), publications (reports, toolkits, and academic articles on cooperative development, care economies, and municipalism), webinars, the Kilombo Podcast on liberated zones, and project partnerships with over 30 organizations including Cooperacion Santa Ana, Food Chain Workers Alliance, National Domestic Workers Alliance, and the New Economy Coalition. Its proprietary methodologies are branded as the Research Justice Framework, Community-Centered Data Analysis, and the Futures Game Conjunctural Analysis Tool, with documented campaign outcomes including a Los Angeles minimum wage increase benefiting 720,000+ workers, decriminalization of street vending for 50,000+ microbusinesses, and cooperative training for 75 Latinx residents across 30 businesses in Orange County.

The organization operates as a worker self-directed nonprofit (transitioned in 2024) with no parent company, funded entirely by tax-deductible donations and grants accepted via PayPal, Venmo, debit/credit, bank transfer, and mailed checks. Services are provided at little to no cost to grassroots movements, with go-to-market executed through community-led partnerships, a regional California focus (Los Angeles and Orange County) with North American reach through the MLS program, and distribution via its own website, social channels (Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), webinars, podcast, and free downloadable publications. Effective February 1, 2026, the Municipalism Learning Series is being spun off to the Institute for Social Ecology, with key MLS personnel transferring to ISE, marking a strategic refocusing of SRC's portfolio toward its core research, fiscal sponsorship, and solidarity economy ecosystem-building work.

Name

Solidarity Research Center

Legal name

Solidarity Research Center

Website

https://solidarityresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Solidarity Research Center is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that provides participatory action research, data analysis, and educational programming to community organizations, worker cooperatives, labor unions, and advocacy groups building solidarity economy ecosystems, primarily in California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Social Science Research

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Applied social research
• Solidarity economy research
• Worker cooperative development
• Participatory action research
• Community-based research

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Solidarity Research Center is a registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. All donations go directly toward work providing resources, research, and technical assistance supporting the solidarity economy movement. Contributions are tax deductible. Donations can be made with PayPal, Venmo, debit/credit card, or bank transfer. Check donations can be sent to the office address.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Solidarity Research Center provides applied social science research, education, and facilitation services in partnership with community organizations, worker cooperatives, advocacy groups, worker centers, and labor unions. Offerings include research studies and reports, the Municipalism Learning Series public education program, toolkits, webinars, podcasts, and fiscal sponsorship for grassroots projects, all aimed at building solidarity economy ecosystems.

Product overview

Solidarity Research Center is a worker self-directed nonprofit organization that provides research, education, and facilitation services to build solidarity economy ecosystems. The organization operates across several interconnected offerings: Research Services (applied social science research with grassroots partners), the Municipalism Learning Series (educational programming on radical municipalism), Publications (reports, toolkits, and academic papers), Webinars (panel discussions and learning sessions), the Kilombo Podcast (media content on liberated zones), and Project Partnerships (collaborative work with over 35 partner organizations). The organization was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Services Applied social science research using participatory action research, research justice, and community-centered data analysis to support organizing campaigns, cooperative development, and policy advocacy for the solidarity economy.
• Municipalism Learning Series Public education initiative connecting municipalist theory with organizing practice through panel series, cohort fellowships, toolkits, and resources that explore local power reclamation and democratic institution building.
• Publications (Reports and Toolkits) Research reports, toolkits, literature reviews, and academic articles covering cooperative development, municipalism, care economies, land reform, and solidarity economy ecosystems, distributed free via the website.
• Webinars Educational panel discussions and learning sessions covering municipalism, direct democracy, base building, community defense, care economies, and solidarity economy practices.
• Kilombo Podcast Podcast series hosted by Thandisizwe Chimurenga exploring the theory and practice of liberated zones in the 21st century, examining spaces where communities exercise control over their political and economic destiny.
• Building Power in Place: A Municipalist Organizing Toolkit Publication-format toolkit presenting theory and practice of place-based movements for radical municipalism, with tools, practices, case studies, and exercises for organizers and community members.
• Project Partnerships and Fiscal Sponsorship Collaborative partnerships with more than 35 organizations that provide applied research, technical assistance, cooperative assessment, and fiscal sponsorship services to grassroots projects including Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, Color Coded, SWOP Chicago, and The Work and Us.

Quantifiable outcome

• Minimum wage increase benefiting 720,000+ workers in Los Angeles through campaign research
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

38 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Institute for Social EcologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Municipalism Learning Series transitioning to Institute for Social Ecology for sustainable resourcing, organizational alignment, and program development. ISE has demonstrated capacity for fundraising and infrastructure to expand MLS reach.
• 1Worker1VotecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC develops cooperative assessments with 1Worker1Vote, supporting worker cooperative evaluation and development.
• ACLU of Northern CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supports ACLU of Northern California with communications and membership research.
• Anti-Eviction Mapping ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC serves as fiscal sponsor for Anti-Eviction Mapping Project in Los Angeles.
• Beloved Community IncubatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop regional solidarity economy in metropolitan Washington DC area.
• Californians United for a Responsible BudgetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC develops participatory budgeting and critical data visualization of Los Angeles County budget.
• ChangelabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC disaggregated Black and Asian American wealth, income, and employment data to look for points of solidarity.
• Collective RemakecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supports creation of cooperative ecosystem for formerly incarcerated individuals in South Los Angeles.
• Color CodedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC is fiscal sponsor of tech learning space for POC based in Los Angeles and beyond.
• Cooperación Santa AnacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC partners with Cooperación Santa Ana to understand regional economic trends in Orange County, California. Produced report on building regenerative economy in Orange County.
• Community to CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC provided campaign research for farmworkers to win dignity and respect.
• Dine Policy InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC identifying history and contemporary practice of solidarity economies in Navajo Nation.
• Energy Solidarity CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC helps strengthen movement for energy democracy and community solar solutions.
• Food Chain Workers AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supports Good Food Procurement Policy campaign in Chicago with research.
• Incarcerated Workers Organizing CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supports Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee with strategic research.
• Los Angeles College Faculty GuildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC surveyed adjunct faculty members on health care access and coverage.
• Los Angeles for AllcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC building municipalist movement and cooperative ecosystem in Los Angeles.
• Los Angeles People's Movement AssemblycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC convenes Los Angeles People's Movement Assembly since October 2022.
• MORE (Movement of Rank-and-File Educators)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC produces analysis of challenges NYC students and teachers face.
• Municipalism Learning SeriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC coordinating Municipalism Learning Series to introduce radical municipalism framework to North America. Transitioning to Institute for Social Ecology effective February 1, 2026.
• National CAPACDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC provides technical assistance for worker cooperatives developed by National CAPACD members.
• National Domestic Workers AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC working with National Domestic Workers Alliance on assessment of direct care industry.
• New Economy CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supports metanarrative project of New Economy Coalition.
• The Next SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC provides editorial support for papers on systems change.
• One ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC conducting landscape assessment of global solidarity economy movement for One Project.
• Pacific Electric Worker Owned CoopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC provided market research and implemented marketing strategy for solar installation and electrician cooperative.
• PayDay ReportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supports PayDay Report, the South's first union news coop.
• Research Justice CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC coordinating research justice track of Allied Media Conference 2018.
• Resource GenerationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC supporting research on wealth redistribution.
• SWOP ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC fiscally sponsors Sex Workers Organizing Project Chicago, a mutual aid and abolitionist organization.
• The Work and UsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC fiscal sponsor for participatory research project engaging imprisoned people in data collection.
• New Economy CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting new economy movement building.
• People PoweredcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization for democratic participation.
• Sociocracy for AllcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization promoting sociocratic governance.
• SymbiosiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization for revolutionary transformation.
• US Federation of Worker CooperativescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting worker cooperatives.
• US Solidarity Economy NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization for solidarity economy network.
• Wellbeing Economy AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization promoting wellbeing economy.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Democracy at Work Institute: Research and technical-assistance nonprofit supporting worker cooperative development in the US, directly overlapping SRC's cooperative research and ecosystem-building work.
• The Democracy Collaborative: Think tank producing research and tools on community wealth building and democratic economies, closely mirroring SRC's solidarity-economy research and advocacy mission.
• New Economy Coalition: Network organization advancing the solidarity economy movement in the US; also a named SRC partner, working the same movement-building space.
• Institute for Local Self-Reliance: Nonprofit producing research and toolkits for local economic self-determination and community power, aligned with SRC's municipalist and local-economy work.
• Research Action Design: Worker-owned collective conducting participatory action research with grassroots movements; spun from the same lineage as SRC's dissolved cooperative and uses similar methods.

Broad incumbents

• PolicyLink: Larger research-and-action institute advancing racial and economic equity through data and policy, overlapping SRC's racial-justice research and advocacy focus at greater scale.
• Center for Popular Democracy: National advocacy and research network backing grassroots economic-justice organizing, a larger-scale analogue to SRC's advocacy research.

Emerging players

• Data for Progress: Progressive research and polling shop generating data to support movement and policy campaigns, comparable to SRC's campaign-research function.
• Movement Strategy Center: Nonprofit supporting social movements through strategy, capacity-building, and research, overlapping SRC's movement-support orientation.

Others

• US Federation of Worker Cooperatives: National membership body for worker cooperatives and an SRC partner; ecosystem participant supporting the same cooperative constituency.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@solidarityresearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/solidarityresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solidarityresearchcenter
• Instagraminstagram.com/solidarityresearch
• Xx.com/researchjustice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Solidarity Research Center